Tough love
by YAY13
Summary: When the hotel that Bruce Wayne and his sons are staying in is attacked, the Avengers save them and suggest they stay with them until it is safe. Damian meets Charlie Barton, the child spy of Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff and realises some things about love, that it's hard. Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Apart from my OCs, you'll find out who they are later! Rubbish summary!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**

**I own no one apart from my OCs (Charlie Barton and A)**

Things you need to know:

Damian is fourteen.

Jason never died.

Charlie Barton is an OC but if Marvel want to give Clint and Natasha a kid, go ahead.

Damian = Robin

Tim = Red Robin

Jason = Red Hood

Dick = Nightwing

Bruce = Batman

Charlie Barton = Arrow

You know the rest!

I don't own any one you recognise!

In Tim's mind the holiday had been going great. Alfred would have been proud. He would have been really very proud that they had spent two full days not crime fighting. That was until the explosion. The hotel room had been rocked as the floor below had exploded and black-clad ninjas had come after them and onto their floor. Having no time to get costumed up, they were all allowing themselves to be tied up. Damian was resisting the urge to fight back as a gag was wrestled into his mouth. While the boys were sitting on the floor while Bruce was sitting on the bed. They all had their wrists tied behind their back and their ankles tied in front of them. They were all gagged and the men were in the process of blindfolding them all. Seven assassins were in their large penthouse room while three more where blocking the stairs. Each of the assassins were heavily armed and, as they finished blindfolding Dick, they began to pace the room.

"Mr Wayne, greetings from an old friend. He would want to spend a little bit of time with your boys." one of the assassins said with a nasty chill to his voice.

Jason felt a hand slap across his face as he men realised he had been attempting to free the bonds around Tim's wrists. Suddenly the large glass window shattered. Five figures swung in and hit into the nearest of the seven assassins. Four of the figures were men but one of them was a girl. They were clearly recognisable as Ironman, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye and Arrow of the Avengers. Ironman was leading the group, having smashed the glass with his replusers, and took out a would be kidnapper with a single blast. Captain America took out the closest criminal with his shield. Thor spun his hammer around and took out an attacker. Hawkeye fired an arrow into the chest of one of the further away criminals and Arrow did the same. Suddenly the other two assassins fell and Black Widow stood in the doorway. Then the wall began to crumble as Hulk walked through it.

"What should we do with them?" Ironman said looking at the floor and the assassins laying on it.

Black Widow was already beginning to clear away the assassins when one of the assassins stood up and pulled Damian to his feet.

"Don't move or I shoot!" the man shouted, preparing his gun.

He wasn't calm. He was panicking. The Hulk swung an assassin he was holding by the ankle at the man and knocked both the criminal and the boy unconscious.

Damian woke up in a white hospital lab with two people standing there and a third sitting on the hospital bed. He had a bandage round his head but found his eyes settling on Bruce and a red headed woman.

"Who on earth is that...?" Damian was about to continue when he noticed the girl sitting at the end of his bed.

The girl had long wavy brown hair and shinning blue eyes. She looked about Damian's age,no more than a couple of months out. She was dressed in a tight fitting SHIELD uniform with a set of arrows strapped to her back and a bow pouched carefully behind her. She had a knife strapped to her side but offered Damian one of the most caring smiles in the world that he couldn't help but trust her. Damian found himself wondering if he had died and gone to heaven, the special assassin heaven where angels were fully armed.

"She's..." Damian trailed off as he stared at the girl.

"Miss Barton, maybe you should leave me and Miss Romanoff to talk to Damian, I believe the other boys are in the lounge with your team." Bruce said.

Miss Barton nodded and offered Damian a final smile before she stood up, throwing Damian's jacket at him. "She had to take it off while she checked for traumas and whatever else the Hulk did to you." Bruce explained before Damian had a chance to get angry at the girl for breaching his personal space or being inappropriate.

"Good bye Mr Wayne. Good bye, kiddo." Miss Barton said, disappearing out of the room.

At first Bruce winced, waiting for his son to abruptly correct the teenager and tell her that she was stupid for not knowing his name. Damian let it pass calmly. Damian watched her go and then turned to Bruce and Miss Romanoff.

"Damian, this is Natasha Romanoff." Bruce said, pointing at the woman next to him. "The Avengers rescued us but you were knocked unconscious by the Hulk. Miss Barton is her daughter. She treated you."

Bruce smiled as his son began to complain about the Hulk and how he would give that beast a piece of his mind when he saw him. He had been worried something was wrong.

Dick, Jason and Tim sat on the sofa in front of the Avengers. Hawkeye was shorting through a collection of arrows as he sat on the stylish and expensive table. Ironman (Tony was still dressed in his armour although his mask was up) had not said anything and was standing next to him. Thor was pacing the room, having no knowledge of Bruce Wayne or his sons as he had not heard them mentioned before. Captain America was sitting next to Tim and the teenager was biting down squeals of excitement every time the hero brushed against his arms. Dick had explained who they were and what had happened to bring them into the care of Bruce when both of the other boys had begun to falter in their tales. Thor was still confused about it when Miss Barton walked in and leapt up onto the table, her shoes resting on a designer chair. Tony didn't even wince. It seemed the man had money to throw away, much like Bruce. Clint smiled at the girl as she placed her bow down.

"So..." Jason began, looking at Miss Barton and prompting for her name.

The girl looked content as she introduced herself as Charlie.

"So Charlie, I've heard about the other Avengers but not you." Jason said. "Who are you and how did you get into the Avengers?"

"Well, I'm Charlie Barton." Charlie said with a smile as if it explained everything.

"And how did you join the Avengers?" Jason asked.

Charlie looked surprised at the question.

"When a man loves a woman they disappear into a dark room and when they come out they've already been on the phone to the stork that's going to bring their baby." Charlie joked. "Then the stork brings the baby and the baby grows up."

"Jason, how could you not know?" Tim screamed. "Charlie Barton is Arrow, the daughter of Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. She is the next generation of the Avengers!"

Then he began to blush, realising that all the Avengers were surprised by his outburst of fan-boyish enthusiasm. It was Charlie who seemed to recover first. With a click of the tongue that reminded the boys of Damian, she reported, "Your brother is fine. He's recovering. Speaking of your brother, where is Brucie?"

"Brucie?" Dick said, shocked that a child would be so informal about someone she'd only just met.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, the Hulk." Charlie said. "He knocked your brother out. He's still upset about it, knowing him. Maybe we should let Damian meet Bruce so he can say sorry."

"If he doesn't Hulk out first." Dick joked. "Damian isn't the most calming person to be around at the best of times."

Then a pretty woman, rather tall with ginger hair walked in. They all recognised her as Pepper Potts. She was holding a set of files in her hands and offered Tony a smile before kissing his cheek gently.

"Hello." she said. "You've got some work to do later, the police let those assassins escape. I've already called off your meetings."

"Pepper, meet Dick Grayson, Jason Todd and Tim Drake-Wayne."

"Drake-Wayne? Weren't those the last names of your friends at school?" Pepper asked.

"Yep. Me, Jack and Bruce ran the school until the Waynes died. Still, we had all the girls eating out of our hands." Tony said.

"And we still do." Bruce joked, appearing the doorway with his hand on Damian's shoulder.

He had his Wayne smile on, acting like the loveable millionaire the world saw him as.

"Why did our group break up?" Tony asked to himself, remembering back to the end of university.

Bruce could remember it well. Jack had gone to get married to his girlfriend and Bruce had started travelling the world in training to become Batman. He found himself smoothly changing the subject.

"I see you have met my sons, this is Damian, my youngest."

"I've heard stories about that night, Bruce." Tony said.

Most of the stories were lies but the tabloids had made there be no need for a cover story about Damian suddenly appearing.

"Have you heard anything from Jack, these days?"

"Tim is his son. Jack, himself, was..."

Bruce didn't need to continue as he saw the sparks of sadness in his old friend's eyes. There was a moment's silence, broken by a click from Damian. Captain America cleared his throat.

"Since you and your boys could be in danger, why don't you stay here?" he said, pulling back his mask to reveal his blond hair. "If Tony would allow it of course."

Tim's eyes widened at the idea. Dick looked at Jason and then at Bruce. If they stayed with the Avengers it could put their secret at risk but it was also a great way of making sure none of them were kidnapped. Tony was nodding at the idea.

"Me and Bruce, back together, back on the prowl." Tony joked, putting his arm around Bruce.

The other Avengers lead the way out of the room and Bruce's sons trailed behind, letting Charlie mix in with their group. It was only then they noticed the gun holstered on the opposite side to her knife.

"So, are you enjoying New York?" she asked, seeming causal.

The boys nodded and Dick gave Charlie a full run down of everything they did from getting ice cream to watching a movie back at their hotel room.

"I suppose you lot are used to getting to being kidnapped." Charlie smiled as she lead the group after the adults.

"But not getting rescued by the Avengers." Tim said, excited. "Do you think you could give me your autograph sometime?"

"What harm can it do?" Charlie asked with a shrug.

She stopped at a corridor leading away from the main one the others were going down.

"I need to go and get taught Latin by Jarvis. He'll send Fury an alert if I'm not at lessons on time." She began to head down the corridor. "See ya Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian."

After each name she gave a little nod and then disappeared down the corridor. As the boys moved away, Damian watched Charlie go.

Despite getting separate rooms, all the boys met up in Dick's as soon as they had found their luggage was already there. Tim had produced a newspaper guide to the Avengers from his bag and had it open out on the bed, the pictures of each of the Avengers and what the public knew about them staring back at them. Charlie's picture had the least writing next to it but it still had four large paragraphs.

"So, we're staying with the Avengers." Jason said, letting the news sink in.

"Well, we are if Drake can stop drooling over them." Damian said.

"I was worried you were ill, little bird, you didn't insult anyone while we were in there with the Avengers." Dick pointed out. "In fact you were borderline pleasant."

"I was respecting their hospitality." Damian said, making it sound true.

"But it was as if you were impressed by them." Jason teased.

"If you are going to insult me, I think I will leave you to live in your filth." Damian said, standing up and leaving.

Tim looked at the others and then suggested that he should talk to Damian, thinking to himself that he had some idea of why Damian was acting strangely. Dick and Jason watched them leave and then turned to each other.

"Is it just me or are Damian's insults getting worse?"

Tim followed Damian through the building. The boy was younger and than Tim but he was faster and seemed angry.

"I know you're following me, Drake!" Damian growled.

"I know why you're angry at us!" Tim shouted back. "Now either you come back or I shout so the whole of the Avengers can hear me!"

Damian turned back to Tim and frowned.

"Talk then."

"Charlie Barton is a good hero." Tim said, slowly.

"Yeah, I am!" Charlie said, jumping down from the rafters.

Seeing the shocked expressions of the boys, she continued.

"I told Jarvis where he could stick his Latin lessons in Latin and then I wondered off and heard you boys here. I was in the rafters. I see better from a distance. So what don't you want the Avengers to know?"

Damian began to open and close his mouth as Charlie smiled at him. Tim made up a lie about how they didn't want the Avengers to know that Damian preferred the Justice League. Charlie shrugged and linked arms with Tim and Damian.

"Come on, lets go and see Hulk. He's in the lab with Tony."

Jason had decided to go to sleep and walked out from Dick's room. Dick lay down on his bed over the covers, reading the newspaper articles. Then the door opened and a dark shadow crossed his room.

"Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?" Dick asked as the dark shadow moved closer.

Bruce was sitting with Captain America and Thor, discussing their lives. Bruce tried to seem excited but had already read their files and Tim's growing collection of Avengers novelties told him all he needed to know. He was more interested in his boys than the stories. As soon as he could escape the Avengers he would go after the would be kidnappers. He just hoped the Avengers would be a big enough distraction to keep the boys from joining him in his dangerous crime fighting.

Tony and Bruce watched as a bubbling test tube spit some sort of acid out into the air. As the metal door to the lab opened, Tony and Bruce shouted for the people entering to stop. Charlie dived in the way of the acid as it spat towards Damian and Tim and it splashed over her front. She whipped up her bow and aimed it at the sprinkler, hitting it and sending water over them. It put out the experiment and also flattened their hair. Damian watched as Charlie strode through the rain towards Tony, seeming more angry at him than Bruce.

"Tony, what did Pepper say about causing acid explosions?"

"Not to do it?" Tony suggested.

Damian watched as Charlie turned to Jarvis.

"What did Pepper tell you about letting him?" Charlie asked.

"Not to do it, Miss Barton." Jarvis said in his computerised voice. "But Mr Stark said he had permission from Miss Potts."

Charlie rolled her eyes and turned to Bruce and introduced him to Damian. Bruce began to grovel, asking Damian for his forgiveness about the Hulk. He began to check over Damian's head. At first Tim through he was going to attack Bruce but Damian stayed calm.

"I was just working on an acid that only eats through non-organic items." Tony said. "It's not really working. It's still eating through both at the moment and it's very dangerous."

"Charlie, you've got acid on your uniform!" Tim shouted, running forwards and tipping a chemical over the teenager. "I just counteracted the acid." Tim said, smiling at her.

Tony's jaw dropped and he rushed over to Tim. He scooped him up and raced from the room. Damian pushed past Bruce and to Charlie's side.

"What is he doing?" Damian asked.

"I think he's kidnapping your brother." Charlie shouted and began down the corridor.

Bruce Wayne stared as Tony rushed past, Tim hanging over his shoulder, quickly pursued by Damian and Charlie, then Bruce Banner. Banner pulled himself into the room to get the three men. "Code 17!" Banner shouted.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Captain America said, getting to his feet.

He ran out into the corridor, giving chase. Bruce turned to Banner with a frown and asked the the mysterious Code 17 was.

"Code 17 is when Tony kidnaps another genius so he can have genius friends living all around him."

"Who's he kidnapped?" Bruce asked, running out into the corridor to follow them.

"Your son." Banner replied.

Jason ran into the corridor, looking for Dick. He sighed to himself, realising he had left his jacket in his older brother's room. He knocked on the door.

"Dick, I... I left my jacket inside." Jason began, still in awe of the older Robin.

When Dick didn't open the door, Jason frowned.

"Dick? Are you in there?"

Slowly Jason opened the door and frowned to himself. Dick's covers had the imprint of the young man on and Dick's jacket was hanging on the side of the bed, Jason's resting nearby. That was when Jason noticed an arrow digging into the wall. He walked over and pulled out the arrow, seeing a note hanging from it. 'On the roof.' It wasn't in Dick's hand writing. Jason grabbed the note and raced from the room.

Tim gasped as Tony placed him on a chair and tied his wrists together behind his back.

"What on Earth are you doing?" Tim asked.

He fought the urge to Red Robin out at them.

"You are going to live in this lab with me!" Tony said with a smile.

Tim gasped as he heard fists thundering against the door. He could hear Bruce and Banner shouting for Tony to open the door and Pepper's voice coming over Jarvis. Tony began to barricade the door and turned on a Bunsen burner. Fire spurted into the air and Tony began to throw random chemicals onto the fire.

"This was how I made the seventh new compound I needed for making the hover car!" Tony said with boyish glee.

Natasha joined in shouting at the door, trying to get in. Suddenly a vent cover hit into Tony's face and sent him flying backwards. The vent cover was followed by a teenaged girl and she hit into Tony's jaw.

"Damian, free your brother!" Charlie shouted as she held Tony on the ground.

She threw an arrow at the youngest and he used it to cut the rope around Tim's wrists. Damian smiled and Tim expected him to make fun of the situation.

"She knows my name." Damian said as Charlie pulled Tony to his feet.

Charlie was telling Tony that he was probably going to get grounded like a mother talking to a naughty child.

"Tim, sort out whatever Tony made." Charlie instructed.

"He's a genius! He should live with me." Tony whimpered and smiled at Tim, asking him to live with him.

Damian watched as Charlie began to move the barricade and handed her her arrow back. He smiled as she opened the door and Bruce rushed in, hugging both Damian and Tim. Banner rushed up to Tony and told him that he was grounded. Tony pushed past and wrapped his arm around Bruce, leading him away.

"So how much do you want for Timmy?" Tony asked walking away.

"I'm not selling my son." Bruce repeated, having not let go of his two youngest sons since the rescue.

They were walking down the corridor and, for the two hundredth time since they had left the room, Tony was making an offer for Tim. The offer had reached far into the millions. Then the group bumped into Jason. Jason seemed worried, holding the note out in his hands. Charlie was looking around for her father.

"Dick's gone missing." Jason said.

"So has my father." Charlie said absent-mindedly.

Natasha looked at Charlie.

"The circus boys." Natasha muttered as if it was some sort of insult.

"This note was there. It says he's on the roof." Jason said.

Charlie looked at the others and then they all exchanged glances. The Avengers began to race off and the Waynes soon followed.

Dick gasped as he leapt off the roof. Clint was holding onto him but they still free-fell most of the way. Suddenly the line Clint had fired went taut and pulled the two of them up but not completely.

"Clinton Barton, what on Earth are you doing?" Natasha shouted from the roof.

"Mr Barton, could you please bring my son up?" Bruce bellowed.

Clint refused, holding Dick by the ankle and swinging him around. Dick whooped and then stopped.

"It is just me or are those cars meant to be flying?" Dick asked, looking down the street.

"Oh man." Clint said. "Fun's over."


	2. Chapter 2

Red Skull smiled as his tanks fired energy blasts as the rolled down the street towards Stark Tower. He was riding on one of the four massive armoured tanks that were powered like the Tesseract. A blue energy blast hit a taxi and flipped it into the air. People were running in all directions and screams filled the air. The a crackle of lightening with one of the tanks. It had little effect but it marks the arrival of Thor. Then Ironman appeared in the sky and fired two blasts at Red Skull. When the other Avengers arrived fifty Hydra agents appeared and began to fight them in the street.

"At least we know who tried to kidnap the Waynes." Ironman said as he blasted an agent who was leaping at Black Widow.

She kicked two agents off the Hulk and he threw the rest so they knocked down a couple of agents who were trying to stop Hawkeye. Captain America landed in front of the lead tank and began attacking it, hoping to get inside. When he failed, he used his shield to propel Arrow into the air and onto the top so she could fight off the agents who were shooting at him. The Avengers were going through the motions but neither side could gain the advantage. Suddenly five more fighters joined the group. Batman dropped down and began to pull Hydra agents off Thor. Red Hood and Red Robin attacked a tank, trying to get through it's armour. Nightwing and Robin landed beside Captain America and helped him keep back the Hydra forces. The tanks stopped rolling forwards and it looked like the heroes were getting the advantage. Ironman was able to keep the Hydra agents at a distance while help protect his friends, Black Widow and Hawkeye were fighting the agents off easily and discarding them like trash. The Bats were fighting back forces as if they were part of the team. Hulk turned his attention to a tank and smashed it apart to the cheers of Arrow who was swinging over head. Then Arrow's grappling line was cut. The teenager's keen eyes caught sight of a bullet flying through the air, having just cut her line. As she fell Arrow knew she would have no chance to react. She hit into the roof of one of the tanks and was pushing herself up when she felt a hand close around her wrist and pull her bow from her hand. Red Skull smiled as he threw Arrow's bow to one of his Hydra officers and pulled Arrow's hands behind her back, holding them there as the teenager struggled. Red Skull pointed his gun at the teenager's head and bellowed, "Stop this now, Avengers!"

When they saw the peril their youngest agent was in, the Avengers stopped and stared at Red Skull. Despite Ironman being their leader, they all turned to Captain America to know what to do.

"Release her, Red Skull." Captain America said.

Arrow slowed her breathing as Red Skull tightened his grip on her wrists. Arrow found her eyes settling on Batman, the nearest of the heroes and saw he was holding a Bat-a-rang in his hand. Hawkeye had produced an arrow but knew that if he hit his daughter then Hydra would have a perfect hostage.

"I will call off my invasion if you let me go with the child."

The Avengers exchanged glances and Ironman agreed to the terms. Arrow nodded and offered her team-mates a brave smile. Red Skull smiled and opened the hatch to the tank he was on. He pushed Arrow down the hatch and climbed down himself along with his Hydra officers. As the tanks began to move off, the Bats turned to the Avengers.

"What on Earth are you doing?" Robin shouted. "They have Arrow!"

"Red Skull's interest in Arrow begins and ends at her super solider serum infused blood. He needs to keep her alive for that but, if he gets Cap or Widow, then he will have no need for Arrow." Ironman explained. "The serum in her blood is weaker, not much weaker but weak enough to make Red Skull less likely to perfect his own version."

"We need to get back." Captain America said. "Did you place the tracker?" he asked Hawkeye.

The archer nodded and said it should be coming online very soon.

"Batman, would you and your companions like to join us in our mission to capture Red Skull?" Batman looked at the others and they nodded.

Arrow struggled against the ropes. As soon as she had been forced into the tank, her arrows had been taken off her and she had been tied to a a large metal pole at the centre of the large tank.

"You want the serum inside me." Arrow said simply. "You want to recreate it."

"Be quiet." Red Skull hissed from his controls. "I only need you alive, I don't need you in one piece."

Arrow worked round so her hands caught on the knife that rested on her side and managed to pull it out of it's casing. It was painful but she managed to get the knife in her hand and began to work on the ropes. She didn't mind if she did a bad job. She couldn't scar and the wounds would heal quicker than most. Arrow managed to free her wrists but stayed still waiting for the right moment. As Red Skull turned away, she saw it was the right moment. She held the rope and leap forwards, holding it around Red Skull's neck. Hydra agents pulled Arrow off him before she had a chance to do any damage and injected the teenager with something. Arrow gasped as black dots began to swim across her vision. She stumbled and hit the floor as she collapsed.

Natasha and Clint were pacing the room as Captain America returned from making a call to someone known as 'A'. Ironman was working on the computer, trying to get the tracker to work and moaning about the defences that Hydra had up.

"Are we sending in A when we find the young archer?" Thor asked.

Banner nodded, having turned back from the Hulk a few minutes after the fight. The Bats were entirely ignored. Robin seemed worried, Red Hood indifferent, Nightwing tried to be helpful, Red Robin was pacing the room and Batman was sitting at the computer. Then there was a knock at the door. A boy Robin's and Arrow's age walked into the room. He had prefect blonde hair and sparkling eyes that shone blue. He offered the Avengers a nod and smiled at Natasha and Clint.

"What trouble has Charlie got herself into this time?" A asked.

"Red Skull has her." Banner said. "Tony's searching for her but so far she's still missing."

"Do you want me to go in uncover?"

"I think that's the plan. You and her work better alone." Clint said. Robin looked at A and stood up.

"I want to go to." Robin said.

"That's not really what working alone is." A said with surety.

"Nor is working in a pair." Robin pointed out.

A seemed hesitant and then he looked at Natasha. He offered her a look, asking her what he should do. She nodded and A turned back to Robin.

"Okay, let's get you kitted up."

Batman wasn't too pleased with the fact that Robin was going undercover in Hydra but he had no choice but to let him. Dick believed it was Natasha who had convinced him that a smaller group would be best and that Robin and A had to be suited for the job. She also pointed out that no one operated better with Arrow than A. Nightwing was helping Robin prepare, reading out files on Hydra, Red Skull and any other agents he might encounter. Red Hood was making a call as Jason to tell the Avengers than they were visiting friends of Bruce's that day and might spend the night over. Batman himself was talking to Captain America about what they had on the attempted Wayne kidnapping and going through the evidence until he knew beyond a doubt that Red Skull had ordered it. Red Robin was going over the files with boyish glee, enjoying every second. He didn't notice as A walked up behind him.

"You like the Avengers, don't you?" A said, clamping his strong hands down on Red Robin's shoulders.

He was dressed in a Hydra uniform and had a gun strapped to his side. The very sight of him made Red Robin feel uncomfortable. A looked so much the part he could have been one.

"Who doesn't?" Red Robin said and then realised that telling A about his hero-worship of the Avengers might not be very good. "You look the part."

"That's the idea of going undercover. The plan is to go in, pretend Red Skull has ordered her to be brought to him and then take her out of the building and get her back here." A said.

"That's not very well thought out." Red Robin pointed out.

"Me and Arrow prefer to make it up as we go along."

"You and Arrow, is there anything up there? Are you two...?"

"A thing? Of course we are. I'm the youngest undercover SHIELD agent the group's ever had with martial arts skills that could give a couple of the Great Masters a run for their money. Plus, Arrow has a thing for dangerous boys."

Red Robin was horrified. He wondered whether it was safe for A to take Robin on the mission, maybe him and Arrow would kiss and then Robin would murder them both. Robin had never had feelings for a girl before. He needed to tell Robin about it. A turned away from Red Robin.

"I really worry about her when she gets kidnapped. It's not just what she's done but it's her whole family name and everything about her. Arrow is a very competent agent." A pointed out.

He turned back and looked Red Robin straight in the eyes.

"But Hydra has been interested in her for ages and it's not just for the super solider serum."

Arrow woke up strapped to a table. She felt sick and took a deep swallow to clear her mouth. The table was at a forty-five degree angle to the floor and bright lights were beaming down on her. Arrow realised that she had been relieved of her weapons, tools and jacket. Her wrists and ankles were held down by thick leather straps. Red Skull was standing near two scientists and when he saw Arrow had come round, he walked over. He smiled down at the helpless teenager.

"Hello, Arrow."

He rolled her codename of his tongue with glee. He turned away and looked at his scientists. They walked forwards and injected Arrow with something. It blurred her vision but she stayed conscious. She felt her muscles begin to switch off one by one so she had no chance of escape. Sometimes she really hated Hydra.

"Are you aware that your genes contain Red Room alteration from your short time there?" Red Skull asked.

Arrow hadn't been aware of it but she wasn't about to tell Red Skull that he had more information than her. She nodded slowly even though Red Skull wasn't looking at her. It had been hard to even nod and her mouth was dry. She guessed talking would be nearly impossible. She had been aware that she had been forced into joining the Red Room when she had been only six years old after her step-father, Natasha's husband, (Red Guardian, a man believed to be dead) had abducted her to become a new Black Widow. She had been there for seven months and during that time no one was really sure what they did to her. Even she didn't know. There were good guesses and mad suggestions but Red Guardian had never confirmed anything apart from the fact that she was well on her way to replacing her mother.

"Did you know that there is a cyanide tooth in your mouth that if broken would kill you? Did you know that your bones are forty-seven percent stronger than normal bones? Did you know that your cells will not deteriorate?" He paused. "I'm guessing you knew the last one. It's caused you to not scar as your cells constantly heal. You will not age past twenty in short. But the thing I am interested in is your arm. The Red Room knew you surprisingly well. They knew you weren't to be trusted and, more than that, knew you would be a lose cannon at the best of times. They fitted a bug into your arm that, once activated, will give the person who activates it control of you. In a sense mind control."

"Only the Red Room know who to activate it." Arrow said.

She needed it to be true. For her own welfare and the welfare of everyone she cared about she needed it to be true. If it wasn't true it would mean that Red Skull would have control of her and make her work for Hydra as his own pet assassin.

"Don't worry. These two are Russian Red Room scientists. They are willing to give me full control." Red Skull turned to the scientists. "Start the proceeder!"

Nightwing was running through the files very quickly. He was doing a good job at it, testing Robin on who was who. Robin seemed at home with the gun by his side but he looked strange in the Hydra uniform. He had checked it uniform over and fired a couple of shots from the gun to get used to it. Nightwing had winced, not comfortable with the idea of any of the Bat-family using a gun. He just hoped that Bruce would be okay with the idea.

"Only kill if it's really necessary." Nightwing moaned.

"I am surprised that you are not the one wanting to go undercover, Grayson."

"Less of the names in the field and, yes, I would love to go undercover but you got in first."

Then Red Robin walked in. He smiled at Nightwing and then said that A wanted to see him about the mission folders. Nightwing nodded and left with his files. Robin was looking over the gun, preferring to not make eye contact with his brother.

"You can tell father that I have memorised the files and know every inch of what Hydra might throw at me." Robin said.

"I'm not here because B sent me." Red Robin replied.

He moved closer and looked Robin straight in the eyes. His little brother was dressed in a Hydra uniform. He seemed to be fine with the idea of going uncover. He looked the part, a perfect little solider, maybe that was why Red Robin didn't like him.

"I'm here because I know why you're going. To impress Arrow."

"I am going merely to return Arrow to her parents. If she feels impressed by my methods and feels the need to accompany me on a patrol, I will not reject her." Robin said.

Red Robin knew that that was about as romantic as Robin would get while he was in costume. As Damian he might try and be a bit more romantic but the role of Robin was meant to have no emotional attachments to other heroes. It would have been so easy for Red Robin to make Robin find out the hard way that Arrow might not find him interesting in the slightest but he decided against it. Robin was his little brother after all and he didn't want to upset the Avengers by his brother going mental. Robin continued to check over the costume.

"She has a boyfriend, Robin. She is dating A!" Red Robin heard himself say before he had even thought it through. "He told me earlier."

"Okay and am I meant to be worried about this?" Robin asked. "Arrow is allowed to date whoever she chooses."

Red Robin left and Robin looked down at the ground, heart broken. He shook his head.

"Why not me?" he murmured.

Batman watched as the other Avengers talked to A about his plan. The boys were due to leave soon and break in but they were making sure they were all ready. They made sure both the boys had their tools. Robin kept away from the Avengers, clearly wanting to talk to Batman. Finally he managed to walk over to his father.

"A is dating Arrow."

"Really?" Batman said.

It was clear he wasn't that interested. He was eyeing up the gun strapped to his son's side and wondering whether he should let him take it with him.

"It's not that it concerns me it's just..." Robin paused. "What does he have that I don't?"

"What?" Batman said, finally listening.

He was amazed that his son was even capable of having feelings towards a living person, let alone have feelings towards an assassin he hadn't known for long at all. Surely he could not fancy Arrow after knowing her for only a day.

"He's a show off and a joke and a bit of a..."

"Robin, Arrow likes him. She trusts him and knows what he can do. They've put their lives on the line together." Batman said. "If you fancy her then maybe you should talk to her when you three get back."

Robin's mouth was pulled into a weak smile as he turned away from his father.

"I do not fancy her, father, I merely worry that A is not suitable for her." Robin replied.

He then took his father's hand and shook it, telling him he would be back soon. Then he moved away towards the plane with A. Batman paused for a few seconds before opening out his hand and seeing a supply of bullets resting in it.

A was flying the plane while Robin sat in the back. They worked in silence, neither wanting to talk to each other, even when the plane was in the air. Then A's voice cut across the cabin.

"Robin, you do know that I'm just bringing you along so that the Avengers are happy, right?"

"I was aware of that." Robin replied.

"Arrow and me work better when it's just us." A added.

In his head Robin found himself pointing out that Arrow was probably doing most of the fighting.

"Is this the first time that you've been needed to rescue Arrow?" Robin asked.

"Yes, normally it's me that the villains can't get enough of." A joked.

He continued to fly the plane. Robin sat in the back playing with his bullet-less gun.

_That figures,_ he thought spitefully. _Maybe you do need me to come after all._

Batman walked towards Red Hood. The boy had disappeared and it had taken the dark knight and while to work out that his son was up on the roof, looking over the city. It had gotten dark and the city was full of lights. It was so different to Gotham. Red Hood didn't even need to turn to acknowledge that Batman was there.

"I've already got a cover story for us, we're staying at a friend's tonight. Damian collapsed onto the couch and we thought it would be mean to leave or move him."

"That's good." Batman said.

"I asked who was going out on patrol. They don't do patrols. Turns out the cops round here are pretty good."

Red Hood didn't want an awkward silence. There were too many awkward silences between him and his father. He didn't want another. Most of the awkward silences were caused by the fact that he was the outsider of the family, nothing more, nothing less. He wasn't the genius (Timmy) who got everything right, not was he the first the longest serving (Dick) with all the memories and experience. He wasn't even the baby (Damian) who needed guidance and good teachers.

"Clint and Natasha are worried. You might not be able to see it but they're parents. They care about Charlie no matter what she does. Clint's good at showing his love; he's like Dick. Natasha isn't. She struggles. It's hard for her because everything she's ever cared about has been taken from her or used to manipulate her. She's like me." Batman said.

He moved closer to Red Hood and pulled back his cowl, knowing that no one would be able to see them that high up.

"What on Earth...?" Clint exclaimed from the doorway. "Mr Wayne! You're Batman!"

"Oh man." Bruce said.

He had a lot of explaining to do.

Dick, Jason and Tim were unmasked and a short and snappy triply encoded message sent to A about the identity of his college. Tony was being melodramatic, talking about who he had been betrayed. Natasha had fallen quiet, calculating. Clint had been happy with his findings and then talked to Dick about how useful circus life was in fighting crime. Tim had been escorted away from Tony before the news could sink in that Tim was not only a genius but a crime fighting genius. Jason and Bruce just seemed a bit timid. Jason however had been forced to explain to Thor that they weren't really at a friends. It was Steve who was handling it best. He seemed to be fine with the fact that a good citizen like Wayne had become a crime fighter to protect his own little part of America.

"So, now that you've alerted A to Damian's identity, I'm guessing we will be told A's?"

"A has kept his identity a secret. Only Fury is trusted with that information." Natasha said in reply to Bruce.

Bruce seemed a bit uneasy about that. Natasha asked Jason to leave and take Thor out of the room so it was just her and Bruce. (Tony had gone off in search of Tim so he could convince the teenager to allow himself to be adopted.) Natasha smiled weakly at Bruce.

"I know what it's like." she said. "I know what it's like to worry about one of your own. Charlie is my only daughter and I would never want anything to happen to her. There was one time when a mistake of mine, my husband, came after her. I married him long ago, when I still worked for KGB. He kidnapped her and took her to Russia, locking her away in the Red Room. Every night for the seven months they had her I couldn't sleep. They did things to her, we know that much, but the effects, no one knows what they did."

"Why are you telling me this?" Bruce asked.

"Arrow is a crime fighter, a brave agent of SHIELD. Charlie is my daughter, an archery star with the intelligence to have a good job. Sometimes it's hard to think of them as the same person. When she's out there in the field, she's Arrow and I'm fine because I can be there for her to protect her. When it's like this. When she's a prisoner and there's no chance of me rescuing her then I see she's Charlie. She's completely defenceless and I need to save her. You feel like that with your sons."

It was not a question, it was a statement. Natasha looked into Bruce's eyes and knew that it was true.

"I don't like any of my sons being in the firing line, let alone my youngest." Bruce said.

Robin straightened his hat as he looked away from the plane. He began to walk away and follow A towards a large warehouse.

"Are they in there?" Robin asked.

"Under it." A said.

"You sure know a lot about Hydra."

"Me and Charlie are always fighting Hydra." A replied.

Robin pulled out his gun once again and A looked at him.

"It's not loaded any more."

"My father and family have a engrained avoidance of guns. I don't see the problem but they don't like me shooting people."

"Weird." A shrugged.

He let his gaze settle on the warehouse once again.

"So the plan is we break in and find Charlie dressed as the workers." A clarified.

"Yes." Robin said. "Then we can leave because the Wayne case is solved."

"Because the case of your family is solved." A teased.

Robin was annoyed that the Avengers and A now knew his identity but there was little he could do until he got his hands on whoever had given them away. At that moment he knew it would be best to focus on the mission in hand, finding and freeing Arrow.

Robin looked around the warehouse and wasn't surprised to find it looked like a warehouse. A seemed to think that the place was suspicious. He was looking around for something.

"What are you looking for?" Robin asked with a dull tone.

"Look at the badge on your chest." A ordered.

Annoyed, Robin did as he was told. He could see an octopus like creature with a massive head.

"Try to find that mark."

_What does Charlie – Arrow – see in you?_ Robin thought spitefully.

Despite this, he began to search the room. His eyes settled on a picture hanging from a notice board and he moved closer. It was the same mark on the badge. He pressed it and a door swung open. It lead to a lift. A smiled at him and then walked forwards.

"Good work, now stay behind me and let me answer the questions, you're more..." He paused as if he was searching for the right word. "Hired muscle."

Robin wanted to snap A's neck as they continued forwards.

Robin tried to keep focused on the task in hand but he knew little about Hydra. Since he was undercover as a Hydra agent he couldn't ask his questions so he proceeded to answer them in his head from what little he knew. Hydra was run by some ex-Nazi called Red Skull. Captain America fought Hydra and lost a sidekick to it and then was frozen. Hydra seemed to have survived too and now worked against the Avengers. Arrow had been a target of them for a long time, probably for the fact that her blood contained the Russian version of the super solider serum. He was about to try and work out what else he knew when a group of Hydra agents walked down the corridor towards them. Almost forgetting he was in a Hydra uniform, he prepared to attack.

Suddenly the agents raised both hands in the air and bellowed, "Hail, Hydra!"

Robin and A both copied automatically but then A stopped one of the other guards.

"The Avenger brat, where did she end up?"

"Try the science block."

The two boys walked away before A looked at Robin.

"Why would she be there?"

"The science block? Maybe experiments? Serum extraction?" Robin asked.

"Now you sound like one of the Avengers." A snapped. "If Arrow were here she would be..."

"What?"

"Trying to kiss me, most likely." A replied with a smile.

Robin was sure that A was lying. He had seen Arrow in battle and it was clear she would be more interested in a fight than romance.

"Would you like me to kiss you?" Robin muttered, thankfully to quietly for A to hear. "Let's just get to the science block."

Red Skull smiled as the scientists stepped away from the unconscious teenager. He snapped at one of the scientists to wake her up and slowly Arrow stirred. Red Skull almost clapped with joy. Arrow was released and she stood there. Then she bowed her head and looked as if she was waiting for orders.

"Your job is to destroy any heroes you encounter." Red Skull said.

Suddenly Arrow's head snapped upwards. She began to scan the rafters of the science block. She pulled back an arrow and fired. It slammed into the rafters and released a gas. Then the sound of choking rose from that section and two figures leapt down to escape the gas.

"They are just Hydra agents." Red Skull said, staring at the rather short agents in front of him.

"Robin and A." Arrow said simply, pulling back another arrow.

"Do you mean to say that some heroes broke into here?" Red Skull shouted.

Arrow didn't nod, she was standing almost perfectly still, an arrow trained on A's chest.

"Kill them." Red Skull ordered. "Or better yet, capture them. It's always good to have a couple of test subjects on hand."

Robin decided that while Arrow was fishing out a new arrow that would not kill him, it would be the best time to run. He tried to convince A to run with him just by a look but a glance at the side showed an arrow sticking out of A's chest and the boy falling to the floor, knocked out. Robin took a deep breath and sprinted away. Arrow followed him.

**Still don't own anyone! :-(. Please REVIEW. If you have had time to waste reading this then you have time to review!**


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